These hot and melty roast beef, cheddar, & caramelized onion Hawaiian roll sliders are a yummy appetizer, small bite, snack, or meal. Tender deli beef, cheddar cheese slices, spicy condiments, & sweet cooked onions combine for an incredible hot sandwich. With this easy recipe, transform ordinary cold cuts into an oven-baked slider that everyone will love.
The gooey melted cheese & tender steak is stacked on butter-dijon-basted soft rolls. The layers of hearty ingredients come together for a flavor explosion of savory, sweet, & spicy all in one. These petite handheld sliders are the perfect recipe for parties, birthdays, potlucks, and holidays.
Anytime you want a hot & cheesy appetizer, this is one of the best recipes. Or make it a complete lunch or dinner alongside some crispy air-fried crinkle fries or broccoli apple salad. There are more ideas for sides & salads below to serve with these sliders.
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Ingredients for Roast Beef Sliders
The oven-baked sliders start with sweet or savory Hawaiian rolls. The main ingredients stacked in these slider rolls includes freshly sliced beef and sharp cheddar. (mild or medium can be used also) Then slather on horseradish cream for a spicy kick that is the perfect condiment with roast beef.
For additional sweetness, slow-cooked onions are added. Don't skip the onions. Sweet, buttery, & tender caramelized onions pair well with the savory beef & sharp cheddar. Baste everything with a butter sauce with spicy dijon & Worcestershire sauce for the tastiest rolls ever.
- King's Hawaiian Rolls
- Sliced Deli Roast Beef
- Sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Caramelized Onions
- Horseradish Cream
- Dijon Mustard
- Salted Butter
- Worchestershire Sauce
- Paprika
See the recipe card for quantities. These sliders are made without poppy seeds or any seeds. Just soft pillowy rolls.
How to Make Roast Beef Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls
Here are the easy step-by-step instructions to make this baked sliders recipe with beef & cheese. It only takes a few minutes to prep the ingredients and assemble them. If you have caramelized onions already made, these sliders are a quick & fast recipe. In under 30 minutes, this slide recipe is hot, melty, and ready to eat.
1 - Make the Caramelized Onions
To make the caramelized onions, you want to cook slices low and slow in butter. This can take about 30-45 minutes, depending on how sweet & deep brown you want them. Here are the easy steps for learning how to make caramelized onions. Once they are done, let them cool and it is time to start making the sliders.
2- Assemble the Sliders
Before you begin preparing everything, preheat the oven to 375°. Next, gather all the ingredients. The steps for making these include slicing the rolls, piling the ingredients inside, and topping the sandwiches.
Grab your best bread knife (serrated knife). Slice the Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally. Try your best to make the tops and bottoms of equal thickness. Place the bottoms in a 7x11 rimmed baking dish. Let the tops rest on the side.
Next, the condiments will be spread on the bottom half of the rolls. I recommend using horseradish cream. Or combine fresh horseradish with sour cream to make your own. As an alternative, use dijon or yellow mustard. (my kids prefer mustard so I do ½ & ½ sometimes)
Spread the horseradish cream on the bottom half of the slider rolls.
Top the horseradish with the roast beef. I like to fold over the slices in half and overlap them so there is a nice thick meaty layer.
Pile on the caramelized onions next.
The final layer is the cheddar cheese slices.
Now add the tops of the rolls to cover up the cheese slices. Once the sliders are assembled, it is time to make the basting sauce.
3 - Basting & Baking Beef & Cheddar Sliders
These meaty sliders have an amazing dijon & butter topping. It bakes into those soft rolls for so much added yumminess. Do not skip this step!
To make the basting sauce, just whisk together a few savory items. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the salted butter. Whisk in the dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of all the rolls with the sauce.
Finally, sprinkle on some paprika and then they are ready for baking. Cover the baking dish with foil. Place the covered baking dish on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Hint: This keeps the rolls soft while cooking. If you want crispy tops, remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of baking.
You know the beef and cheddar sliders are ready when the cheese is melted. The rolls will be glistening with buttery tops that are soft & not soggy. Carefully, remove them from the oven using oven mitts. Let them sit for a few minutes.
CAUTION: the cheese may be molten hot! Letting the rolls sit for a minute not only allows the cheese to cool a bit but also helps the rolls stay intact when you cut them.
How to Serve Sliders
Once they are set up, use a knife to cut between the rolls. Use a spatula to remove a slider one at a time to enjoy. The small oven-baked slider rolls will be plump and filled with all that beefy cheesy goodness.
If these are for a party, slice them and leave them in the baking dish. Or move them to a platter. When hosting guests, I like serving these with other tasty small bites such as some Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings and Air-Fried Frozen Coconut Shrimp.
Top tip
Make it a party with these beef & cheddar sliders. This recipe is a great appetizer or meal option when feeding a crowd. The recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc for birthdays, parties, potlucks, weddings, showers, & holidays.
Substitutions
If you have dietary or allergy requirements, here are a few changes you can make. This recipe is already nut-free. But if you want gluten-free or dairy-free, these alternatives work well with this recipe.
- Slider Rolls - use gluten-free buns or rolls to make gluten-free sliders.
- Worcestershire Sauce - if you don't have any on hand, try one of my recommended substitutes for Worcestershire sauce.
- Caramelized Onions - I highly recommend you use these but if you are short on time, use thinly sliced raw onion instead.
- Cheddar - I use sharp but you can use mild or medium cheddar.
For a dairy-free slider recipe, instead of regular cheddar use your favorite dairy-free cheese. Also, swap out the butter for margarine.
Variations
Here are some small changes for this recipe to better suit your taste, guests, or occasion. These variations work well to alter this recipe for beef & cheddar sliders without changing it too much.
- Extra Spicy - add a layer of spicy jalapeno or pepperoncini peppers.
- Cheesy - instead of cheddar use your favorite sliced cheese or use two kinds for a cheese lover delight.
- Mild/Kid-friendly - use yellow mustard instead of the spicy horseradish sauce.
I love sliders because you can make so many different varieties of these small sandwiches. They all have soft Hawaiian rolls, some kind of melty cheese, & other flavorful ingredients. Sliders are great any time of day whether it's some egg, sausage, & cheese breakfast sliders or a vegetarian combination of Italian Caprese sliders.
Equipment
A baking dish, pastry brush, and a really good bread knife are important for making these sliders. Here are my recommendations for a few great bread knife choices and some other tools every kitchen needs.
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Storing Hawaiian Roll Sliders
To store leftover homemade sliders, place them in an air-tight container or top the baking dish with foil again. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven, toaster oven, or microwave.
I do not recommend freezing these sliders either before or after baking. The bread will not hold up well in the freezer with the tomatoes and pesto. Defrosting will change the texture and result in a soggy texture.
FAQ
Assembling sliders ahead of time is a great way to save time later. It is a good make-ahead appetizer, snack, or lunch. I pre-assemble sliders for parties all the time.
I suggest assembling the sandwiches and placing them in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, add the topping, cover, & bake. You may need a few more minutes in the oven since the ingredients are cold versus room temperature.
This recipe is meant to be a roast beef & cheddar slider. However, any sliced protein will work in this recipe. You can swap out the beef for turkey, ham, chicken, pastrami, or any of your favorite cold cuts.
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with these sliders if you want to make it a meal. These ideas are what to serve with beef & cheddar sliders. My kids love having sliders for lunch or dinner. Pair with soup, salad, or one of these recipes.
Roast Beef, Cheddar, & Caramelized Onion Sliders
Equipment
- Serrated Bread Knife
- 11x7 rimmed baking dish
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian Sweet or Savory Rolls
- ½ cup horseradish cream
- 1 pound sliced deli-style roast beef
- ½ cup caramelized onions recipe link shared above
- 6 thick slices of cheddar cheese mild, medium, or sharp
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- paprika
Instructions
Make Caramelized Onions
- If making the caramelized onions at this time, it will take about 30-45 minutes to make them.
- Follow my recipe for how to make caramelized onions - link shared above.
For the Sliders
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Grab your best bread knife (serrated knife) that has a long blade. Ideally, the blade would be as long as the sliders are wide. Slice the Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally. Try your best to make the tops and bottoms of equal thickness.Place the bottoms in a 7x11 rimmed baking dish. Let the tops rest on the side.
- Spread the horseradish cream on the bottom half of the slider rolls.
- Top the horseradish with the roast beef. I like to fold over the slices in half and overlap them so there is a nice thick meaty layer.
- Spoon on the caramelized onions next. Pile them up so every slider gets a good amount.
- The final layer is the cheddar cheese slices. Place them in an even layer to cover up all the other ingredients.
- Place the tops of the rolls on.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the salted butter. Whisk in the dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of all the rolls with the sauce. Finally, sprinkle on some paprika and then they are ready for baking.
- Cover the baking dish with foil. Place the covered baking dish on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Hint: This keeps the rolls soft while cooking. If you want crispy tops, remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of baking.
- Let the rolls sit for 2-3 minutes. This allows the cheese to set and cool.
- Once they are set up, use a knife to cut between the rolls. Use a spatula to remove a slider one at a time to enjoy.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in the oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until the filling is hot.
Brett says
Finally a slider without poppy seeds. The perfect slider recipe for us meat eaters.
Dee | Grammy's Grid says
YUM, hubby and grandbabies would love these with the Hawaiian rolls. Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 99. Shared.
Paula Short says
Angela, these sound fantastic! Pinned to try later.
Your neighbor at Unlimited Linky #99 #121&122
Jennifer says
Delicious! These were so good! First time making caramelized onions. Easy! Yum 😋 ❤️
Angela says
Glad you tried something new & you liked it. Those caramelized onions are so good you may be putting them on just about everything now.